The Journey Begins
by nyislandersgirl
Summary: Ash and Misty's two oldest children are about to leave on their Pokemon journey, but both find this upcoming event to be rather stressful.
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful winter day in Cerulean City, the sun just rising above the clouds. The warm yellow light began to spread across the room of a young girl, forming the furniture's shadows over light blue walls. It made the lightly colored wooden floor shine brightly, and just lit up the whole room. From underneath the green and yellow floral printed sheets rose the young girl. She had just woken up, but she was effortlessly beautiful. The girl's fiery red hair, which was arranged in layers, fell gently so that it hung an inch or two below her shoulders. She opened her eyes, which were so green they resembled emeralds, and the sun's rays made them sparkle. Slipping out of bed, the girl walked towards the full length mirror that hung on the wall next to her dresser. Smiling, she straightened out her blue tank top and the blue, yellow, and green bubble printed pajama pants she wore. Just as she was about to turn towards her dresser to take out some clothes, the girl's red hair swung lightly in front of her face. Standing up straight once again, she sighed and tugged at one of the middle layers.

Elsewhere in the house, the sunlight filled another room, although this one not as neat as the girl's. The golden rays drenched piles of clothes, papers, and plenty of other things lying around on the floor. The dark blue walls did have a certain glow to them in the light, though, and it was almost enough to take away from the mess. The red and blue covers of the bed shifted, and a young boy, who was no where near as graceful as the girl, came up from sleep very slowly. His messy raven black hair stuck up in all different places. The boys' dark brown eyes would only half open, only to shut again once the sunlight hit them. He moaned and threw himself back down, but the boy rolled over the wrong way and fell off his bed, making a hard _thud _noise as his body hit the wooden floor. Moaning once again, but this time in pain, the boy didn't even bother to get up. He just opted to lie on the floor instead.

The girl walked gracefully down the stairs, keeping her arms down by her sides. She loved the dress she wore, but hated when she walked down the stairs and the skirt had a tendency to fly up a little bit around her. Standing finally in the kitchen, the girl's face lit up when she saw her mother setting the table.

"Good morning Mom." She smiled.

"Good morning Michelle."

As her mother turned around to look at her, it was obvious where Michelle got her good looks from. Her mother, Misty, the Cerulean City gym leader, had the same emerald eyes, and the same fiery red hair, but hers was wispy and falling just below her shoulders, with equally wispy bangs just brushing her forehead.

"Or, should I say, happy birthday." Misty walked towards her daughter and kissed her on the head.

"Thanks Mom." Michelle continued to smile as she went to sit down at the table. This birthday was unlike any birthday she had ever had before, however. It was Michelle's tenth birthday, meaning that tomorrow; she could leave and become a Pokemon trainer, or a coordinator, in her own case.

"Where is your brother?" Misty asked, placing food on the table.

"Probably still asleep." Michelle rolled her eyes. "He's so lazy."

"I wouldn't exactly say lazy." Misty smiled but saw the _seriously? _look on her daughter's face. "Okay, maybe lazy. But it isn't exactly _his _fault. He gets that from your father."

"Dad's not lazy." Michelle raised her eyebrows. "He trains really hard."

"When he wants to." Misty snickered. "Trust me, when he was Aiden's age, there was no difference."

As if on cue, a loud _thudding _noise came thundering down the stairs. Aiden, the black haired boy, emerged before them, looking absolutely exhausted and out of it.

"Look who decided to show up." Michelle giggled. Misty turned to her and gave a warning glance. Michelle covered her mouth and tried to stop.

"Happy birthday sweetheart." Misty grinned and went to kiss him, but Aiden moved away quickly.

"No Mom." He mumbled as he sat down and put his head down on the table. Misty sighed, raised an eyebrow, and turned to him.

"What time did you go to sleep last night Aiden?"

"Uh…I don't know." He responded without raising his head. More giggling began to fill the room, but this time it wasn't from Michelle. Instead, it came from a small girl, running down the stairs. Like Misty and Michelle, she had bright emerald eyes, but her red hair was darker and ended just at her shoulders.

"Mommy!" she continued to giggle excitedly as she ran to Misty and hugged her leg. Misty smiled down at the little girl.

"Good morning, Elizabeth." She bent down and picked up the four year old, whose eyes were glowing bright with glee. Looking around the room, Misty sighed yet again.

"Where is he?" she asked herself quietly.

"Good job, Pikachu!"

A warm and charming voice came from behind Misty, as she turned around. The little electric Pokemon bounded inside, its trainer walking behind it. His black hair was essentially neat, just a bit wind swept. The tips of hair just slightly hung above his dark brown eyes. And when he looked up and saw Misty, his eyes lit up.

"Were you actually out training, Ash?" Misty smiled slyly.

"Come on Mist, you act like I'm the laziest person on Earth."

"Daddy!" Elizabeth smiled and reached out to Ash.

"Hello Lizzie." Ash smiled back and took the girl, kissing her forehead. Still smiling, he put the little girl down into her chair at the table. Now Misty smiled. Ash was so sweet, such a good father. She leaned in to kiss him, and he was about to do it, until he smelled the food.

"That smells _so good!_" Ash's eyes widened as he stood up straight again.

"Ugh," Misty rolled her eyes and tugged Ash's hair as he sat down. "Some things about you will never change, will they?"

"Ow." Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Guess not. But you still love me." Now his smile was sly.

"Yeah yeah." Misty closed her eyes so Ash couldn't see them sparkle. As she placed the food on the table, Ash looked at his two older children, but knitted his eyebrows when he saw them.

"What's up with them?" He whispered to Misty as she sat down.

They both examined their children very closely. Aiden's hair was messy, he was still in pajamas, and he had all but fallen asleep at the table. Michelle looked like her usual self, all dressed up in her new party dress for the day's later celebration, except for the fact that her hair was pulled back in an extremely messy manner, obviously trying to be hid. Elizabeth was still in her pajamas, but she was wide awake and happily eating, unlike her brother. Michelle caught eyes with her parents and elbowed Aiden.

"Wake up." She hissed at him. Aiden tiredly raised his head and opened his eyes, seeing his parents.

"Dad?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "When did you get here?"

"What were you doing all night?" Ash skipped the question.

"Uh…not staying up all night, that's for sure." Aiden laughed nervously.

"So that's exactly what you did."

"Yeah." Aiden put his head back down.

"Aiden, why would you do that?" Misty asked in an annoyed tone. "You know what was happening today! You kind of need to be awake for it."

"The boy's just excited." Ash shook his head.

"He doesn't leave until tomorrow though."

"It doesn't matter. When I was about to leave on my Pokemon journey, I didn't sleep for a week."

"Aiden didn't sleep." Elizabeth giggled. "He was up, and talking, and then he threw something at the wall!"

"You did _what?_" Misty turned back to her son, arms crossed.

"Last night, I apparently threw my alarm clock at the wall." Aiden responded. "But I did it in my sleep. I actually did get _some _sleep, you know. Just starting at like…four in the morning."

"So is this same thing going to happen tonight?"

"Guess not. I'm out of alarm clocks." Aiden snickered.

"Aiden." Misty said sternly.

"It's okay Misty." Ash smiled. "After breakfast, I'll take him outside to help me train. That should wake him up." But he now turned his attention back to Michelle.

"Hi Dad." She said warily, putting her fork down.

"Why is your hair up that way?" Ash raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, uh…I don't want to talk about it." Michelle lowered her eyes.

"I'll deal with _that _after breakfast." Misty looked at her daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

Once everyone finished breakfast, Ash turned to Aiden.

"Go upstairs and get dressed. Then we'll go out training."

"And get dressed _nicely._" Misty added as Aiden walked past her. "We're having the party this afternoon."

"Yes Mom." Aiden responded as he walked up the stairs.

"Michelle, go upstairs to my room." Misty looked at her daughter.

"Yes Mom." Michelle followed her brother.

"What about me?" Elizabeth squeaked, obviously feeling left out.

"Aw, pumpkin." Ash smiled and picked her up; calling the girl by the nickname he had given her because of her red hair. "Why don't you go upstairs to your room, and you can pick out a pretty dress to wear to the party this afternoon?"

"I can pick out my dress all by myself?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

"Yep." Ash grinned as he put her down.

"Yay!" Elizabeth squealed with delight as she ran towards the stairs.

Ash continued smiling as he turned to look at Misty, but he stopped when he saw her. Her head was down, hands pressed hard against the counter.

"Misty, are you okay?" Ash walked over to her, placing his head on her shoulder.

"This is the day I've feared for the past ten years." She replied through gritted teeth.

"I know." He lowered his eyes.

"How can you not be more upset by this?" Misty cried.

Ash opened his mouth to speak, but Aiden appeared at the bottom of the stairs, running through the kitchen, and oblivious to the situation.

"Ready Dad, come on!" He yelled as he ran by.

"We'll talk later." Ash kissed her on the cheek before walking outside.

In the backyard of the house, the sun beat down on everything, causing an unusually warm winter day. It was also blatantly clear how handsome Aiden was when he cleaned himself up. His hair had been brushed and neatened up, but there was still a boyish tousle to it. Aiden's dark brown eyes were now wide open and shining in the light. He was out of his pajamas and in a nice blue dress shirt and pants. Everyone always seemed amazed by how much Aiden looked like his father, down to almost every detail except for the lack of markings below his eyes. Otherwise, they both had the same coloring, handsome face, and determination.

"Alright son, come here." Ash called over to the boy. Aiden smiled, nodded, and ran over to his father.

"What kind of training are we going to do today, Dad?" Aiden asked with beaming eyes.

This wasn't the first time Ash had taken the boy out training. They had been doing it for quite some time. Not because Ash had forced him, but because Aiden had so heavily insisted on it. His father was a Pokemon master after all, and Aiden wanted to be one as well.

"Not anything specific." Ash scratched his head. "I've taught you pretty much everything I could."

"Than what are we doing?" Aiden was confused now.

Ash tried to hide his smile but he couldn't. "We're going to have a battle." Now Aiden lit up again.

"A battle? Like…a real, legitimate battle?"

"Yep."

Aiden's eyes were glowing a warm brown now, but they then stopped, once again with confusion.

"Dad, I don't have any Pokemon yet."

"I know that. You'll just have to borrow one of mine."

Now Aiden was excited indefinitely. "So I can use Pikachu?"

Ash laughed. "No way buddy."

"Pipi Pika." Pikachu nodded next to Ash. _Silly Aiden _is what it sounded like.

"Aw man." Aiden squinted his eyes. "But it's my birthday!"

"I know it is." Ash was still stifling a laugh. "Believe me, I know."

"Then why can't I use Pikachu?"

"You know he won't fight against me."

"Oh, right." Aiden moved some of his hair out of his eyes. He had forgotten that small fact.

"Don't worry. You know I have plenty more that _will _listen to you." Ash moved over to the table that was set up for the party, and showed Aiden three poke balls. "Pick one."

"Out of just three?" Aiden asked in a deflated tone.

"Well, tomorrow you only have a choice of three Pokemon. But then again, you'll know which one you're taking." Ash snickered a bit.

"What? What do you mean I'll know _tomorrow?_" Aiden was frustrated now.

Ash straightened himself up. "You know that tomorrow, you'll have a choice between three starter Pokemon; Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. You get to choose which of the three you want. For this battle, however, you're going to pick one poke ball, at random."

"And not know what's in it until it comes out?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly."

Aiden growled a little. "Fine." Examining each of the three poke balls carefully, Aiden finally chose the ball in the middle. "Got nothing to lose, I guess."

The two walked back out into the grassy area, standing far away from each other to leave a battle field in the middle of them.

"Alright Pikachu, let's go." Ash turned to the electric mouse Pokemon.

"Pika." Pikachu ran to the middle of the field.

"Oh that's so unfair!" Aiden yelled. "I can't use Pikachu, but _you _can?"

Ash shrugged. "My Pokemon, isn't it?"

"Ugh!" Aiden roared. "Go!" He threw the poke ball out into the field, and watched as it burst in mid air, releasing a flash of white light that eventually formed into a large, predator like beast. Its gray body had black and white accents, the beady eyes caught in a permanent glare, and a long piece of black hair with a red tip hanging between the eyes.

"Staraptor!" The Pokemon cawed while fanning out its wings.

"Staraptor? Awesome!" Aiden pumped his fist. "I can totally win."

"Don't be so sure of yourself." Ash's face broke into a sly look. Aiden's went back into determination mode.

"You make the first move." Ash continued to smile.

"I will." Aiden grinned deviously. "Staraptor, use quick attack!" Staraptor flew up off the ground and swooped down, moving vigorously from one side to the next.

"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash ordered. Pikachu jumped up above the low flying predator Pokemon and landed flawlessly behind it.

"Staraptor, Pikachu is behind you! Try whirlwind!"

Staraptor flew back up and began to flap its wings back and forth quickly. The grass moved backwards and Pikachu began to slide back as well.

"Jump and use iron tail!" Ash called out. Squinting, Pikachu was able to jump up against the heavy wind, and hit Staraptor with its glowing tail.

"Star!" Staraptor cried as it spiraled down.

"Staraptor, quick, get up!" Aiden urged. Staraptor was able to get itself up, but just barely. "Awesome." Aiden broke into a smile. "Come on now, let's try brave bird!"

At this order, both Ash and Pikachu gaped.

"Aiden…" Ash tried to reason, but it was too late.

Staraptor was already backing up in the air, glowing a sparkling blue and speeding down towards Pikachu. The attack hit, and Pikachu went sailing through the air.

"Pika!" It cried out as it hit the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled out in a worried tone. The yellow Pokemon struggled to get up.

"Yes! Let's finish this up Staraptor!" Aiden called out. But there was no response. Aiden looked down at the large bird and saw it twitching.

"Staraptor?" He asked.

"Star…raptor." And with one final twitch, it collapsed to the ground.

"Ah, Staraptor!" Aiden ran over to the Pokemon.

"Guess we win." Ash smiled at Pikachu.

"Pika pikapi!" Pikachu came back to its full energy very quickly as it leaped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Good job buddy." Ash scratched Pikachu's neck and walked out towards Aiden.

"What did I do wrong?" He looked up, raven hair uncovering his dark eyes.

Ash smiled. "You were doing fine, until you told Staraptor to use brave bird."

Aiden took out Staraptor's pokeball and returned the Pokemon to its sanctuary before handing the ball back to his father.

"Why would that finish _me _off though? That should've given you a significant amount of damage."

"And it did. You saw that it was effective on Pikachu. The only problem with brave bird is that it's so powerful, it not only causes damage to the Pokemon your battling, but it causes damage to the Pokemon using the attack."

"Ugh, how could I forget about that?" Aiden hung his head. "Now I feel stupid."

"You aren't stupid." Ash tousled Aiden's hair. "You just need to think things out. You get excited and act too quickly. It's the same thing I used to do."

"Yeah, _used _to." Aiden grumbled. "Now you're a Pokemon master. You don't make _any _mistakes. Ever."

"That's not true at all." Ash shook his head. "I still make mistakes sometimes. And I don't win every battle. You just can't. Not even when you're a Pokemon master."

Aiden stood up, but kept his eyes lowered. "I guess so. But…I want to be like you."

"You can be _better _than me." Ash nudged him. "I know it." Something came up then in Aiden's head.

"Are you mad at Michelle?" He asked, feeling a bit odd for changing the subject so quickly.

"No." Ash gave Aiden a puzzled look. "Why would I be mad at her?"

"She's going to be a coordinator. No one in this family is a coordinator. You were a regular trainer, battling in the gyms, and now you're a Pokemon master. And Mom is a gym leader. Now I'm going to be a regular trainer, like you were, but she's going to be a coordinator."

"I'm absolutely fine with that." Ash nodded. "I love you and your sisters, no matter what you do. Even if the two of you hadn't decided to go on this journey, I'd love you all the same."

Aiden now nodded and smiled. "You're a really good Dad."

Ash found himself smiling at that. "I try."


	3. Chapter 3

While Ash and Aiden battled in the backyard, Michelle stood by the window in her parents' room, watching the action. Misty walked into the room, brushing her hair behind her ear, and then saw Michelle standing by the window.

"You're watching them train?" She asked. Somewhat startled, Michelle spun around, the skirt of blue dress twirling gracefully.

"Oh, Mom." Michelle laid her hand on her heart to show her relief. "Yeah. I think Dad is owning the poor boy."

"Now now, you know that their skill levels are very far off from one another's. I think Aiden will be able to beat him one day."

"Yeah, _one _day. But not _today._" Michelle snickered.

Misty sighed. "You children are terrible to each other."

"Aw, come on Mom. You have three older sisters. You're going to tell me you guys _weren't _like this as kids?"

Misty opened her mouth to speak, but saw the look her daughter was giving to her, so she just smiled.

"I knew it." Michelle laughed. "It was exactly the same."

"We need to talk Michelle." Misty's voice became serious. She sat down on the bed, and Michelle, frowning now, sat next to her.

"Why is your hair up like that?" Misty asked.

"Like what?" Michelle tried to act oblivious, but knew it wouldn't work.

"Sweetheart, I understand just putting it up in a ponytail. But that's not what this is." She motioned towards the mess of red hair lazily tied up behind Michelle's neck. "This looks like you're trying to hide your hair."

"Maybe…I am." Michelle lowered her head.

"Why would you do that?" Misty asked kindly. "You've always liked your hair."

"I guess. But now that I'm going on this journey, and there's going to be lots of new people I'm going to meet. Like…"

"Like what?" Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Cute boys." Michelle replied quietly.

"Hm. First of all, you're a bit too young to be worried about them."

"_You _had a crush on Dad when you were ten." Michelle crossed her arms.

"Okay fine. But how does that affect your hair?"

"Don't you _see _my hair? It's red."

"Yes, I see that. Your hair color is exactly the same as mine."

"No boy wants a girl with _red _hair. They like girls with any hair color besides red."

"That's not true." Misty shook her head. "Lots of boys liked me, and like I told you, our hair colors are no different."

"Well, they liked you because you were at least pretty. I'm not. And you didn't even like any of those boys."

"You are pretty Michelle. Very pretty, in fact. And I didn't like any of those boys in that way because there was someone else."

"Yeah, Dad. And it took him forever to figure it out."

"Because, as sweet as he is, he was somewhat dense about things."

"So Aiden gets that from him too?"

"Michelle." Misty sighed.

"Sorry." Michelle bit her tongue.

"I think I know just the thing that will make you embrace your hair the way it is."

"Blonde hair dye?"

"I said the way it is." Misty smiled, but Michelle became discouraged.

Misty got up and walked over to the dresser, slipping open the top drawer. She looked around a bit before finding what she was looking for. From out of the drawer, Misty pulled out a pretty white box and walked back to her daughter.

"What is that?" Michelle asked.

"Open it and find out." Misty sat back down and handed Michelle the box.

The young girl scanned it with her bright green eyes, and placed her fingers on the top. Gripping it tightly, she pulled it backwards so it flipped open.

"Oh." Michelle said breathlessly when she saw what was inside. A shining blue seashell with a hairclip on the back sparkled in the sunlight, just like Michelle's joyful eyes. "It's so pretty Mom."

"Mmhm. And I want you to have it."

"Really?" Michelle asked wide eyed as she ran her fingers over the shell.

"Of course. This clip is actually how you got your name."

Michelle raised her eyebrows. "Really?" She asked again.

"Yes. See, the clip was mine. Your father gave it to me as a present when we were younger, and I loved it. I wore it all the time, even at our wedding. When you and your brother were born, we wanted the two of you to have names with a meaning behind them. And when it came to picking your name, I thought of the clip. See, your name is Michelle. It sounds like my shell."

"Oh, I get it!" Michelle smiled; pleased to know her name meant something.

"I did intend to give the clip to my daughter, if I ever had one. So this was always meant to be yours." Misty smiled too.

She reached behind Michelle's head and gently pulled out the hair tie so that the girl's red layers feathered around her face. Examining the layers, Misty found one on the top left of Michelle's head that was hanging in front of her eye. Misty pinched them and pulled them to the side of Michelle's head.

"Will you open the clip for me dear?" Misty asked.

Michelle nodded and pulled back the black metal clip, and handed it to her mother. Misty put the strands of hair in between the metal clip and the shell, and closed it shut. Michelle stood up and walked over to the mirror. She looked straight forward, seeing the blue from out of the corner of her eye. She turned a bit to the right and saw the shell sitting on the side of her head, still gleaming.

"It's so beautiful! Thank you Mom!" Michelle skipped back to her mother and gave her a hug.

"You're welcome sweetheart." Misty hugged her back and then stood up. "Let's go see what your little sister is up to. It's been a bit too quiet."

Misty and Michelle walked out of the room and down the hall, to Elizabeth's pink, frilly room.

"Lizzie? Where are you?" Misty asked as she walked into the room, Michelle following behind her.

"Here Mommy! And I'm all ready for the party." Elizabeth danced forward, dressed up in a pink princess dress with glitter all over herself.

"Oh no, Lizzie!" Misty tried not to giggle. The little girl was so adorable and girly, even when she made a mess.

"What?" Elizabeth frowned. "Daddy said to pick out the dress I wanted to wear. And this is it!"

"Silly Lizzie." Michelle smiled and patted her younger sister's head. "He meant a nice dress. Not a costume."

"But…this is a nice dress." Elizabeth was upset now. Why did no one like her dress?

"Yes, it is a very nice dress." Misty tried to comfort the girl. "But maybe we should pick out a different one, just for the party."

"Okay." Elizabeth was still sad, but relieved to know that they at least thought her dress was pretty.

Just as Misty was getting up to help Elizabeth find a nicer dress, the door bell rang.

"Oh no." She breathed.

"Don't worry Mom." Michelle showed up in front of her now. "You get the door. I'll help Lizzie find something to wear."

"Thank you Shelly." Misty smiled at her older daughter and touched the hair clip before turning to go down stairs.


	4. Chapter 4

_*Editor's note: This is the first chapter of the story to contain a flashback. Several chapters in the story will feature flashbacks to help build a better background of the past. The flashbacks occur in between the two lines in the story._

Misty walked over to the door, putting her hand on the knob and pulling it open. Once the door opened, Misty found herself standing in front of Ash's mother.

"Hello Delia." Misty greeted her.

"Hello Misty dear." Delia smiled. "Now, I hope you haven't been destroying yourself over this party. You know I could have helped you."

"I know. Don't worry about it though, it wasn't that bad." Misty truly hated the fact that her stubbornness had never gone away, and how she was still so adamant on doing everything on her own. Between planning the party and running the gym, she had made her over protective husband insane with worry.

_You're going to kill yourself. _Ash had said. He tried to sound like he was kidding around, but Misty could hear the trace of worry in his voice.

_I'm not a weak little girl. I'll be fine. _She had given him her most serious face.

_Just let me help you. _He had almost been begging.

_I can do it by myself. _Misty sighed.

That was always what confused her. Misty was so independent, but Ash just always wanted to help. Not just her, but everyone. So she always wondered how they made it work so perfectly. Just as Delia had walked inside, Aiden came running through the house.

"So I _can _beat you at something!" He turned and yelled.

Ash appeared then, but walking.

"Ah, I stopped running once you were far enough in front of me." Ash's eyes sparkled at the thought of his brilliant plan, "thought I'd give you _some _sense of accomplishment."

"Oh, so that's how it is?" Aiden laughed as he ran up to his father, trying to wrestle him to the ground. Ash started laughing too until he looked up and saw his mother standing next to Misty.

"So, he still acts like a ten year old." Misty ran a hand through her soft red hair.

Part embarrassed, and part entranced by his wife's beauty, Ash stood up and smiled.

"Sorry." He giggled nervously.

"Hi Grandma." Aiden smiled, hoping to show he was more controlled than his own father.

"Aiden, my sweet boy!" Aiden walked forward for his requisite kiss on the head. He stepped backwards and let his grandmother examine his face.

"Oh, he looks more and more like Ash every day." Delia smiled at the young boy. And he smiled too. Being told he looked like his father was one of Aiden's favorite compliments to hear, since lots of girls apparently thought he was very handsome.

Ash looked around, confusion filling his dark brown eyes.

"Where is Michelle?" he asked.

"I'm right here." Michelle's soft voice came from the stairs. She had just come down, and was carrying Elizabeth, who now wore a white dress with big pink dots all over it.

"That's much better. Thank you Michelle." Misty smiled at the older girl.

"Okay, put me down now." Elizabeth tugged at Michelle's hair. Michelle put the younger girl on the floor, where she saw the adults and smiled her sweet little smile.

"Hi everyone!" she giggled running towards them, as Michelle walked calmly behind her. "I put on a new dress." Elizabeth spun around to show it off.

"Hello Grandma." Michelle's green eyes continued to sparkle in the sunlight.

"Hello girls." Delia kissed both of them. "And Misty, these girls look exactly like you!"

"They do." Ash smiled, his entire face glowing suddenly. "Lizzie just has darker hair."

Misty adored the happiness Ash got out of their children. She assumed it was because he was still so childish himself at times. Although, to his credit, he had matured a lot. And she had started to see that ten years ago.

Walking in the late afternoon of early summer, Misty hated to be up and walking around. Every part of her was sore, and she felt sick to her stomach. She already was. However, by some miracle, that day hadn't been as bad as any day before it. She walked with her head somewhat down, trying to avoid the nausea. Suddenly, something had stopped her. It was holding her back, someone's head against hers. Misty raised her head a bit and found herself staring directly into Ash's dark, but warm, brown eyes. They were sparkling, and he was smiling. Misty scowled.

"Hello pretty Misty." He nearly sang.

"Not now Ash." She sighed, trying her hardest not to snap at him.

"Okay Mommy." Ash giggled and went back next to her, gently tugging at her ponytail.

Misty blushed at this. She was somewhat relieved by Ash's lighthearted nature, but also somewhat aggravated. Before telling Ash they were going to have a baby, Misty had feared his reaction would not be a good one. He had only been a Pokemon master for about eight months at that point, and the league still wanted a lot out of him. Ash still had to train very hard, and battle constantly. Misty was sure he'd view becoming a father as an unwanted setback, but after he had gotten over the initial shock, he was excited about it. She was too, of course, but at this point, was too sick to outwardly show it. That's why Misty had decided that they should have dinner with Ash's mother and tell her now. She could make Misty feel better. Misty feared the moment she'd have to tell her _own _family. They were just going to make her even crazier. That's why they were going to have to wait until she felt somewhat better. Pikachu, who had been walking along side Ash, jumped up onto his shoulder.

"Hey buddy." Ash smiled at the electric mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied. He turned and saw Misty, looking fairly miserable. Feeling badly for her, Pikachu jumped onto her shoulder.

"Pika pikachu." He nuzzled against her cheek.

Misty giggled. "Aw, Pikachu. You're so sweet." But Ash's immaturity was still bugging her.

"Do you remember what I told you Ash?" She asked.

"Be on my best behavior?" Ash laughed at his own little joke.

"Ash…" Misty growled, about to snap.

"Pika…" Pikachu growled too, sparks coming from his cheeks. Of course Ash was his best friend, but he adored Misty, and didn't like it when anyone upset her. Even Ash.

"Sorry." He tried to stop giggling.

Misty sighed, calming down. "Ash, I told you, you need to grow up just a little bit."

"Do you really think I'm _that _immature?" He asked.

"I don't know what I think anymore." Misty stopped walking and placed a hand on her still flat stomach, groaning.

"Are you okay?" Ash's voice became very concerned. He may have been a bit immature, but Ash was still extremely loving, caring, and protective of her.

"I'm fine. This is normal." Misty clutched her stomach now, wincing.

"Maybe, but I don't like seeing you this way." Ash moved closer to Misty, moving her wispy bangs out of her usually bright emerald green eyes that were currently dulled with pain.

"It'll stop eventually." Misty leaned into his chest, feeling safe and comfortable. "I just don't know when." Ash put his head down on hers, and lifted her hand away from her stomach so he could put his there.

"Don't worry angel." Ash whispered to Misty, using his special term of endearment for her. "I'll take care of you."

He picked her up, and stared into the pained green eyes. Misty just blinked. It was amazing to her how strong Ash had gotten in those past few years. But she smiled and rested her head back against his chest. Misty sighed as she lay in Ash's arms. She could see through this that his immaturity was slowly but surely fading away.

Back in the present day, Misty watched with a smile as Ash laughed and spun little Elizabeth around. She was so absorbed in this sweet image that she didn't notice their older two children were no longer in the room.


	5. Chapter 5

"That was easy enough." Aiden turned to his sister. The two had grown bored of the adults and had been able to sneak outside.

"Great!" Michelle's sarcasm was biting. "Now what do you expect us to do?"

Aiden blinked. He hated when Michelle got the better of him. Just then, an idea popped into his head.

"We can go into the woods." Aiden grinned.

"Are you insane?" Michelle's eyes widened. "Mom and Dad would kill us!"

"Why? They've taken us there like…a million times."

"Yeah! _They _took us! You know their rules. We're not allowed to go into the forest by ourselves."

"That's the dumbest rule ever." Aiden rolled his eyes.

"No it isn't." Michelle sighed. "It's because of the wild Pokemon. They could attack us."

"Don't worry Shelly." Aiden cooed teasingly. "As your older brother, it's my job to protect you."

"Oh yeah, older by eight minutes." Now Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Just come on." Aiden was losing his patience. "You won't get in trouble." And with that, Aiden walked into the forest's clearing.

Michelle growled and hurried behind her brother. Why did they have to have a house in front of something so tempting to a young, stupid boy? It was like dangling a shiny object in front of a baby. Michelle shuttered when she entered the forest. It was dark and eerie. Not only that, but the mass amounts of bug type Pokemon. As much as she loved Pokemon, she hated the ones of the bug variety.

"Hey! You actually followed me!" Aiden's eyes sparkled in a pleased-in-himself fashion.

"Oh shut it Aiden." Michelle crossed her arms. Suddenly, a loud, shrieking sound pierced the air. "What was that?" Michelle cried.

"I…I don't know." Aiden was somewhat scared himself.

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be protecting me, _big _brother." Michelle teased.

"Sh…shut it!" Aiden quivered. The noise got louder and louder, until it sounded dangerously close to the siblings.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a flock of spearrow appeared, looking beyond aggravated.

"What are they so angry about?" Aiden snarled a bit.

"I don't know, but they look terribly mean." Michelle backed up a bit.

The spearrow flew up again, ready to attack the children. As the two screamed helplessly and in fear, a blur flew in front of them.

"Pi…"

And suddenly, a flash of lightning bolted from the ground, scaring the spearrow away.

"That was incredible!" Aiden jumped up, his fear completely dissolved.

"Yeah, but what was it?" Michelle brushed her hair back with her fingers.

Aiden looked down and tilted his head.

"That." He said simply.

Michelle peeked out from behind her brother, and there on the ground, she saw a little pichu, lying weakly on the ground.

"Oh, the poor thing!" Michelle cried. She knelt down next to the tiny electric mouse. Pichu looked up with its big brown eyes.

"It's okay…" Michelle hushed as she gently pet the pichu's head.

"I think it likes you." Aiden knelt down next to his twin.

"Yeah," she replied absent mindedly, "but I think its hurt pretty bad."

"Well we can't just leave it here." Aiden reasoned.

"Who said I was going to do that?" Michelle picked up the little Pokemon and smiled at it.

"Mom and Dad are going to get so mad at you." Aiden gaped.

"No they won't." Michelle shook her head. "I'm helping an injured Pokemon. They'd never get mad at me for that."

Aiden shrugged.

"They _might _be upset if I tell them where we found it, so just keep your mouth closed." Michelle scowled.

"Yeah yeah, like I'd give _myself _away." Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"Just keep it closed." Michelle shoved past him.

"Alright." Aiden walked quickly so he could get past her.

Michelle followed behind, toting the little injured pichu.


	6. Chapter 6

"Mom! Dad!" Aiden yelled, seeing his parents just coming outside.

"Aiden?" Ash called. "What's wrong?" He looked behind his son and saw Michelle holding an injured pichu.

"We found this pichu that was hurt." Michelle flashed her big emerald eyes at her father, just in case he was going to get angry. He could never snap at her when he saw the eyes.

"Oh." Ash walked next to his daughter and looked at the pichu. He smiled then, definitely not angry. "Don't worry. I know who can help it."

Misty walked outside, carrying Elizabeth. Someone else was walking behind them though. Just taller than Misty, with brown hair and darker skin, was Brock, Ash's best friend.

"Brock!" Aiden ran forward, abandoning his father and sister.

"Hey Aiden." Brock smiled and high fived the boy. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

"Told you I knew who could help." Ash glanced at his girl.

"Perfect timing eh?" Brock walked over to the two and brushed back Michelle's hair.

"Hi there Michelle. Happy birthday."

"Thank you Brock." Michelle smiled, but then turned her attention back to pichu. "It's really hurt."

"Hm, I see." Brock nodded. He looked over the heavily breathing Pokemon, touching its head and ears. "Do you know what might have happened to cause this?"

"It used a thunderbolt." Michelle answered. "That was it. But after it was so weak."

"Right. Baby Pokemon aren't very strong. For a pichu, a thunderbolt can be pretty damaging."

Michelle thought for a second. "If you trained it, would it get stronger? Like, if it used a thunderbolt after you trained it for awhile, would it not get so hurt?"

"I would think so." Brock nodded.

"That's what happened with Pikachu." Ash added. "Any Pokemon can get stronger if you train it."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. Why would his sister ask a question like that?

"Don't worry Michelle." Brock smiled at the girl. "I can help it."

"Thank you Brock!" Michelle was very grateful. She handed the pichu over to Brock.

Ash suddenly stopped and looked up at Misty.

"Where is my Mom?"

"In the kitchen helping me cook." Misty answered.

"Oh so _now _you want help?" Ash crossed his arms.

Misty just smiled at him and walked back inside. But of course she left the door open to taunt him with the delicious smell of it. She was evil. Beautiful, but evil. She was really good at cooking, and that had never been the case, until a few years ago.

**

"Alright Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash called out.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded as it spent sparks of thunder barreling out towards Glalie.

"Now Glalie, dodge and use ice beam!"

Glalie soared out of the way and sent a stream of ice towards Pikachu, who jumped out of the way. Both Pokemon were extremely tired at this point, and Ash took notice of this.

"Alright guys, that's enough. Good work!" He called them off.

Pikachu bounded towards Ash and jumped up on his shoulder. Glalie floated over to Ash, pleased with itself.

"Thanks Glalie! Get some rest." Ash took out a poke ball and returned the ice Pokemon. He had been a Pokemon master for about a month, but still had plenty of battles, so he was still training hard.

"Pikapi, pikachu." Pikachu sighed.

"I know, you're tired." Ash scratched Pikachu's head. "Don't worry buddy, we're all done for now."

"Ash!" a familiar voice called out from behind him. Ash turned around and saw Misty running towards him. She ran up next to Ash and rested herself on his free shoulder.

"Hi Misty." Ash smiled at her.

She was so lovely, with her emerald green eyes sparkling in the sunlight, and her fiery red hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. Her wispy bangs moved to the side in the slight wind. And just to think, he was going to get to marry her.

"Guess what?" she said, staring up at him with her bright green eyes.

"What?" Ash giggled a bit.

"I'm going to learn how to cook."

"Ha!" Now Ash was laughing. "That's impossible!"

"No it isn't." Misty's voice sounded a little sad as she buried her face in his neck.

"Mist, you know I love you, but you just can't cook. I know you've tried, but…"

"But what?"

Ash stopped to think. He didn't want to upset her. "Misty…" he started. She looked up at him. "You're good at lots of things. Being a gym leader, singing, being pretty…" she blushed. "But cooking? Not so much."

"Come on, I can learn." Misty looked forward as she spoke.

"Who can teach _you _how to cook?" Ash quipped.

"Brock."

"Well, he is really good at cooking. But you're also really bad at cooking." Ash smirked. Misty pulled a tuft of his raven hair. "Ow." He wailed.

"I can learn." She reiterated.

"Why do you want to cook all of a sudden?" Ash rubbed his head where Misty had pulled his hair.

"Because we're getting married. Brock can't _always _be with us, so one of us needs to learn how to cook, and we all know it's not gonna be you."

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"Because you're worse at cooking than me." Now Misty laughed.

"I am not." Ash's eyes shifted. "If anything, we're equally terrible."

"Not for long. I'll be able to cook far better than you soon enough."

"You don't have to do this you know." Ash turned so he could start walking back to the camp. Misty picked herself up and now walked alongside him.

"Might as well." She shrugged. "I haven't been doing much. You still have to train, but I can't really do much unless I'm at the gym."

"So you're bored?" Ash asked.

"Maybe." Misty smirked. Suddenly, Ash's stomach growled, and he laughed nervously, blushing.

"Aw you're hungry." Misty cooed.

"Yeah." Ash was still blushing.

"Pi pika pi." Pikachu commented. _I'm hungry too!_

"Don't worry." Misty smiled, her eyes glowing. "Brock and I made enough food for everyone."

"Brock and _you?_" Ash's voice was laced with worry as he looked up and saw that they were back, and Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and ran towards Brock.

"Oh just trust me." Misty laid her arms down on Ash's shoulders and kissed him. Ash was still terrified of what kind of "food" awaited him if Misty had had a hand in making it, but the fact was that his body still became hypnotized and his mind distracted when she kissed him, and Misty knew it. It was her way of calming him down.

"Fine." Ash sighed as Misty danced away.

"Pika." Pikachu had come back to Ash.

"Yeah, I'm scared too." Ash patted Pikachu's head. He walked over towards the table where he saw Brock setting up. Misty had gone somewhere else.

"Hey." Brock smiled at him.

"Did you actually let Misty help you cook?" Ash stood next to him.

"Yes." Brock answered quietly. "But I made a lot more food than she did. Just give it a try. I think she is learning."

"If she does actually learn, I'll consider it some sort of miracle." Ash took out his poke balls and released all of his Pokemon for lunch.

"Is everyone hungry?" He asked. They all shouted back in their own language."Alright, alright, don't worry. Lunch is just about ready."

Ash looked over his shoulder to see Misty coming back to them, her loyal Vaporeon now walking alongside her, looking quite happy.

"Vaporeon liked the Pokemon food I made!" Misty's eyes sparkled with glee.

"Vay!" Vaporeon purred its approval.

"That's great Misty!" Brock encouraged.

"Great, so you can make Pokemon food." Ash's tone was sadistic. "What about the three of us?"

"Calm down." Misty shoved him, aggravated. "I helped make lunch for us, so why don't you just find out?"

"She's doing a good thing Ash." Brock tried to reason with him. "She just wants to be able to do certain things by the time you get married."

"My only concern is that if I eat what she makes, I might not make it to the wedding." Ash commented as he sat down.

"Then don't be concerned." Misty growled as she sat across from him. "Just eat it." The two were now caught in a glaring match.

"This is why I keep saying you two don't need kids for awhile." Brock sighed as he put food in front of them and the Pokemon. "You have each other."

Ash was too annoyed by Misty to care about Brock's comment, and he started to eat.

"Oh, this is so good!" Ash's face lit up immediately. "Good work Brock!"

"I didn't make that." Brock sat down next to Ash. "Misty did."

Stunned, Ash looked up at Misty, with a smirk on her face and her emerald eyes glowing.

"Well?" She asked.

Ash smiled at her pretty face. "Well, now you're still good at lots of things. Being a gym leader, singing, being pretty…but now you're good at cooking too."

Misty giggled and blushed. And Ash just kept smiling.

**

As Ash stared longingly through the glass back door, wanting nothing more but some of Misty's delicious food, Brock's voice brought his mind back.

"Wait a minute, where did my nephew go?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Don't worry, I found him." Aiden snickered.

He was peering out from behind the house, looking forward. Michelle ran up to him and peeked out as well. Now they were both laughing. Ash and Brock looked at each other, but walked up behind the two children and looked. In front of the house, a young boy who looked a lot like Brock was talking, or rather flirting, with a pretty blonde girl, who looked quite a bit older than him.

"Oh what did you do to the kid?" Ash giggled.

"Wha…what are you talking about?" Brock stuttered.

"You know what I'm talking about." Ash glanced at his best human friend.

"Oh man, he's embarrassing himself." Michelle laughed.

"Yeah. We should make it even more embarrassing." Aiden suggested.

"That is so mean." Michelle crossed her arms. "But yeah." And the two glided forward.

"What? Aiden doesn't do that?" Brock asked as he turned around, still examining the pichu.

"No way. He's totally oblivious."

"Like you were?" Brock began to walk inside.

"Brock!" Ash whined as he followed behind.

Aiden and Michelle, meanwhile, had gone off to further humiliate their friend.

"Hey! Brandon!" Aiden called out. The boy turned around and his face got very red.

"What are you doing?" Michelle tried to stifle her giggles.

"Me? Uh…nothing!" Brandon rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh really?" Aiden smirked. "Cause it looks like you're flirting with our cousin."

Michelle was now in a full blown laughing fit. Brandon looked over to the girl and laughed nervously, but she just walked away.

"Aw man!" Brandon's shoulders went down.

"Brandon, you didn't have a chance with her." Michelle shook her head as she dried her eyes.

"How do you know?"

"Well, because she's our cousin, for one, and we can practically read her mind." Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"And because she's 14." Michelle blinked. "You're 10."

Brandon sighed, discouraged. He looked a lot like Brock, and his father; Brock's brother Forrest.

"It's not even you really." Michelle soothed, trying to make him feel better. "It's Dakota."

"What do you mean?" Brandon asked, following Aiden and Michelle as they walked back towards the house.

"She's spoiled. A brat. A princess, a…" Aiden went on before Michelle cut him off.

"He gets it." She sighed.

"Sorry." Aiden stifled a laugh.

"She's our Aunt Daisy's daughter; so naturally, she's just a bit…high matinence." Michelle gently touched her hair clip.

Brandon tweaked his head to the side a bit. Staring at the back of Dakota, taking in her wavy dark blonde hair that bounced lightly as she walked. And then there were the dark sea green eyes, but he couldn't see them now, obviously.

"She is very pretty though." Brandon shrugged, giving up.

"You say that about like…every girl we see." Aiden turned to his best friend, grinning devilishly.

"So I assume this is how you'll act when you go on your own Pokemon journey?" Michelle asked.

"Act like what?"

"Chasing down girls like their legendary Pokemon."

"What? No. No way. Well…"

"Oh yeah he is." Aiden nodded. "Such a liar."

"Do you have any other attractive cousins?" Brandon changed the subject.

"Oh come on!" Michelle laughed. "You're hopeless."

"We have two other ones, but _I_ wouldn't call them attractive." Aiden raised an eyebrow. "They are my cousins after all, and they also annoy me greatly."

Brandon gave Aiden a confused look.

"Their both morons." Aiden stated. "All three are, actually."

"Biting words coming from someone like you." Michelle snickered.

Aiden growled at her and went to tackle, but Brandon held him back, very calmly. He was used to this whole sibling rivalry thing. He had known the two their whole lives, and nothing had changed in the past ten years.

"If you are interested in continuing to make yourself look silly, their over there." Michelle pointed towards two girls talking to Dakota.

They were a bit smaller than her, they must've been younger, Brandon figured. The slightly taller one had very dark blue hair that was straight and went down to her mid back. Her equally dark blue eyes seemed to sparkle with glee. The slightly shorter one next to her had dark pink hair that was straight and framing her shoulders. She also had sea green eyes, pretty much the same as Dakota's.

"The taller one is Vanessa, she's 13. The shorter one is Lola, she's 12." Michelle noted. "You may have a better chance with them."

"But not much." Aiden scoffed. "Their even more spoiled and annoying than Dakota. They may also be dumber."

"Hey, I'll give it a shot." Brandon grinned.

"Go for it." Aiden high fived Brandon, and watched him run off. "He's gonna get shot down again."

"Oh yeah." Michelle laughed. Once she was done, she looked over at Aiden.

"What?" Aiden asked, trying to get past her stare.

"Come with me."

"Why?"

"Just come on!" And with that, Michelle grabbed Aiden's wrist and dragged him into the house.


	8. Chapter 8

"Let go!" Aiden whined, turning his wrist left and right, trying to release himself from Michelle's grip.

When she finally did let go, he fell back a bit, and glared at her smug face.

"It would be a lot easier if I had _one _sister." Aiden rubbed his wrist. "Lizzie doesn't bother me."

"Just be quiet and come on." Michelle began to walk up the stairs. Aiden remained down.

"I said come on!" Michelle groaned.

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Because if you _don't, _I'll drag you by the wrist again."

Aiden looked at his wrist, which was a very light red color now. Once again glaring at his sister, Aiden trampled up the stairs.

"That's more like it." Michelle smiled now as she continued to walk.

She peeked into her bedroom, and saw the little pichu lying on her bed. It appeared to be asleep. Gently opening the door, Michelle walked lightly into her room, and knelt down next to the bed. Aiden was standing behind her. Pichu's eyes began to flicker open, and soon it was staring straight into Michelle's emerald eyes.

"Hi little pichu." Michelle smiled.

"Pichu?" It asked sitting up.

"It's okay." Michelle tilted her head. "You saved us. From a flock of angry spearrow. You used your thunderbolt. But you lost all your energy."

"Pi." Pichu nodded.

"How do you feel now?"

Pichu's dark brown eyes began to glint, and it began to run all around the room.

"Pi! Pi! Pi!"

"I think it's feeling better." Aiden smiled, watching the little Pokemon run around wildly.

"That's for sure." Michelle agreed. The Pichu finally jumped back onto Michelle's bed, and then onto her shoulder.

"Hey, it's like Dad and Pikachu." Aiden noted.

"You're _so _cute!" Michelle squealed to the Pichu.

"Pichu pi!" Pichu smiled.

"I think we should go back outside now for the party." Michelle turned to Aiden.

"Probably."

Michelle picked up Pichu and put it back on her bed.

"Now, you stay here and be good. We'll be back later."

"Pi pi Pichu!" Pichu nodded and sat down. Michelle giggled again and followed Aiden out the door.


End file.
